Source: Slain cop suspected of Mexican Mafia affiliation

Updated 4:20 pm, Sunday, May 18, 2014

Julian Pesina, a Balcones Heights police officer, was shot and killed late Sunday, May 4, 2014, while off duty in Northwest San Antonio.

Julian Pesina, a Balcones Heights police officer, was shot and killed late Sunday, May 4, 2014, while off duty in Northwest San Antonio.

Photo: Courtesy

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Images from Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's Facebook page are seen in screen captures taken May 5, 2014. Pesina was killed by two masked gunmen who waited for him to open his tattoo shop

Images from Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's Facebook page are seen in screen captures taken May 5, 2014. Pesina was killed by two masked gunmen who waited for him to open his tattoo shop

Photo: COURTESY

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Images from Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's Facebook page are seen in screen captures taken May 5, 2014. Pesina was killed by two masked gunmen who waited for him to open his tattoo shop

Images from Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's Facebook page are seen in screen captures taken May 5, 2014. Pesina was killed by two masked gunmen who waited for him to open his tattoo shop

Photo: COURTESY

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Images from Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's Facebook page are seen in screen captures taken May 5, 2014. Pesina was killed by two masked gunmen who waited for him to open his tattoo shop

Images from Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's Facebook page are seen in screen captures taken May 5, 2014. Pesina was killed by two masked gunmen who waited for him to open his tattoo shop

Photo: Courtesy Facebook.com

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Images from Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's Facebook page are seen in screen captures taken May 5, 2014. Pesina was killed by two masked gunmen who waited for him to open his tattoo shop

Images from Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's Facebook page are seen in screen captures taken May 5, 2014. Pesina was killed by two masked gunmen who waited for him to open his tattoo shop

Photo: Facebook Screen Capture

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Images from Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's Facebook page are seen in screen captures taken May 5, 2014. Pesina was killed by two masked gunmen who waited for him to open his tattoo shop

Images from Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's Facebook page are seen in screen captures taken May 5, 2014. Pesina was killed by two masked gunmen who waited for him to open his tattoo shop

Photo: COURTESY

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This is an image of Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's taken from his Facebook page.

This is an image of Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina's taken from his Facebook page.

Photo: Screen Capture

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Photo: PHOTOS VIA FACEBOOK

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A San Antonio police vehicle (right) passes Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where an off-duty Balcones Heights police officer was shot to death in a parking lot about 10:00 p.m. Sunday May 4, 2014. Officer Julian Pesina,29, was leaving the tattoo parlor he owned when he was ambushed and shot multiple times according to Chief Henry Dominguez of the Balcones Heights Police Department. The shooting took place within the city limits of San Antonio. less

A San Antonio police vehicle (right) passes Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where an off-duty Balcones Heights police officer was shot to death in a parking lot about 10:00 ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, San Antonio Express-News

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This is Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where an off-duty Balcones Heights police officer was shot to death in a parking lot about 10:00 p.m. Sunday May 4, 2014. Officer Julian Pesina,29, was leaving the tattoo parlor he owned when he was ambushed and shot multiple times according to Chief Henry Dominguez of the Balcones Heights Police Department. The shooting took place within the city limits of San Antonio. less

This is Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where an off-duty Balcones Heights police officer was shot to death in a parking lot about 10:00 p.m. Sunday May 4, 2014. Officer ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, San Antonio Express-News

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A pothole filled with red water is visible in front of Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where an off-duty Balcones Heights police officer was shot to death in a parking lot about 10:00 p.m. Sunday May 4, 2014. Officer Julian Pesina,29, was leaving the tattoo parlor he owned when he was ambushed and shot multiple times according to Chief Henry Dominguez of the Balcones Heights Police Department. The shooting took place within the city limits of San Antonio. less

A pothole filled with red water is visible in front of Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where an off-duty Balcones Heights police officer was shot to death in a parking lot ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, San Antonio Express-News

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Police officers document the scene outside the Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where an off-duty Balcones Heights police officer was shot to death in a parking lot about 10:00 p.m. Sunday May 4, 2014. Officer Julian Pesina,29, was leaving the tattoo parlor he owned when he was ambushed and shot multiple times. less

Police officers document the scene outside the Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where an off-duty Balcones Heights police officer was shot to death in a parking lot about ... more

Photo: Henry Valadez, Jr.

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Emergency personnel transport Balcones Heieghts Police Officer Julian Pesina after he was fatally shot outside the Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where the off-duty officer was shot in a parking lot about 10:00 p.m. Sunday May 4, 2014. Officer Julian Pesina,29, was leaving the tattoo parlor he owned. less

Emergency personnel transport Balcones Heieghts Police Officer Julian Pesina after he was fatally shot outside the Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where the off-duty officer ... more

Photo: Henry Valadez, Jr.

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Police officers document the scene outside the Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where an off-duty Balcones Heights police officer was shot to death in a parking lot about 10:00 p.m. Sunday May 4, 2014. Officer Julian Pesina,29, was leaving the tattoo parlor he owned when he was ambushed and shot multiple times. less

Police officers document the scene outside the Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest where an off-duty Balcones Heights police officer was shot to death in a parking lot about ... more

Photo: Henry Valadez, Jr.

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San Antonio Police Department Sgt, Joe McKinney, talks to reporters at a shooting scene where a Balcones Heights police officer was fatally shot. Officer Julian Pesina,29, was killed outside the Notorious Ink Tattoos & Piercings on the 2800 block of Hillcrest about 10:00 p.m. Sunday May 4, 2014. Pesina was leaving the tattoo parlor he owned when he was ambushed and shot multiple times. less

Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina, in a photo from his Facebook page, was killed by two gunmen while he was off duty Sunday.

Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina, in a photo from his Facebook page, was killed by two gunmen while he was off duty Sunday.

Photo: Courtesy Photo

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Source: Slain cop suspected of Mexican Mafia affiliation

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SAN ANTONIO — The stunning killing last week of a Balcones Heights police officer by armed masked men has the hallmarks of a gang hit, which is partly why investigators are now looking at his suspected affiliations with the Texas Mexican Mafia, sources have told the San Antonio Express-News.

Social media postings show that Officer Julian Pesina — co-owner of Notorious Ink, where he was gunned down May 4 — was covered in tattoos. An “M-13” tattoo on his shoulder is exclusive to the Texas Mexican Mafia, also known as La Eme, according to gang experts. The M, or “eme” in Spanish, is very important to the Texas Mexican Mafia. The number 13 also denotes an M, the 13th letter of the alphabet.

Pesina also uploaded on his YouTube channel two videos of a near relative named M-One. One of the videos opens with the singer saying, “Merecido for life, partner.”

A “merecido” — deserved one — is what Texas Mexican Mafia members call themselves, as they subscribe to the philosophy of the gang's founder, San Antonio's Herb Huerta. He pushed a philosophy that TMM, or Mexikanemi, is a mystical descendancy of Aztec warriors.

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Another indicator of possible gang involvement, according to experts, is a University of Michigan cap Pesina is seen wearing in Facebook photos. It is an accessory many members wear. In 2004, the FBI and Santana unearthed a Mexican Mafia member from a shallow grave in southern Bexar County. Found with his remains was a Michigan cap.

Pesina took peace officer classes at San Antonio College but was never a student in Michigan, according to his Balcones Heights personnel file, which was released to the Express-News Tuesday.

“He just had too many indicators as far as the gang world,” Santana said. “Officers who work this, we recognize all of those things.”

But whether Pesina's slaying was related to gang activity, only the investigation will tell, he said.

The FBI, which has taken down several leadership groups of the gang in the past two decades, is now assisting the San Antonio Police Department in the investigation of the killing. The FBI would not comment beyond that.

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Sgt. Javier Salazar, an SAPD spokesman, would not discuss the details of the shooting or the possible motives. He said they were treating it as a murder and that the homicide division — not the gang task force — was investigating.

For more on this story, visit ExpressNews.com or read the Wednesday print edition of the San Antonio Express-News.